Michael Carrick praised the Manchester United players for the way they responded to making a poor start to the draw with Tottenham at Old Trafford.
Carrick had called for his team to bring more "fire" to their performances on Friday, but a day later they started in terrible fashion against Spurs, playing with a lack of intensity and urgency that riled the Old Trafford crowd.
Only some poor decision-making in the final third and wayward finishing from the visitors allowed United to go in level at half-time, and Carrick admitted his team didn't want to start games in that manner.
Finding intensity as the game progressed
But he rejected the idea that it was proving challenging to find any intensity in his team this season and actually praised the players for managing to dial it up as the game wore on against Roberto De Zerbi's side.
"No, I don't think it was particularly that," Carrick said when asked if intensity was becoming an issue for his side.
"It looks like that in the end and I understand why you say that. I just think it can get like that quite quickly when you're not quite there, and you're not quite at it, and credit to Tottenham for that, I thought they started the game really well."
Credit to the players
"I thought we found it, to be honest, as the game progressed, which is sometimes harder. Sometimes it's harder to find it when you haven't quite got it. Credit the players for that, for finding it towards the end of the first half, certainly the second half."
"We don't want to start games like that, no one wants to start games like that. It was challenging for the players, but they worked through it and got themselves in a good position, which is the most disappointing thing in some ways, is not seeing the game out."
